


In the Darkest Hour

by Kiss Kiss (aliasmajik)



Category: Black Jewels - Anne Bishop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2013-07-30
Packaged: 2017-11-14 03:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliasmajik/pseuds/Kiss%20Kiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dorothea never would have become the power she has in Terreille if Tersa had survived her Virgin Night intact."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I have been enamored of this storyline for some time, because of the quote listed above. Tersa is a magnificent character, but this story is concerned with the "what if" of it all. What if Tersa had survived her Virgin Night intact... Let us discover together, shall we?

HEADQUARTERS HOURGLASS COVEN, HAYLL, TERREILLE

"The contract is clear. Prince Sadiablo retains the right to choose the witch who will bear the child." Althea, elderly Black Widow who served as a clerk for Hayll's Hourglass coven looked between the assembled parties. The beautiful, vivacious young Black Widow who had brought forward the complaint looked as if she had swallowed something bitter, but hid it well enough not to cause a stir. The Warlord Prince inclined his head, but the clerk could tell that the tension in the room was becoming dangerous. He bowed exactly as a Warlord Prince to an elderly Black Widow who did not outrank him should, and left the room.

The girl who remained was young and pretty; she had made the Offering not many months before, and had come back wearing some of the darkest Jewels in the coven. It made her a force to be reckoned with. It made her duel caste even more dangerous, for Dorothea was a Priestess as well as a Black Widow and she came from Hayll's Hundred Families.

Dorothea didn't quite forget to take her leave of the clerk, but she was impertinent with her nod and left shortly on Prince Sadiablo's heels. Althea was glad that it seemed Prince Sadiablo was repulsed by Dorothea, for some reason. Her own visions had been elusive on the subject, but when Prince Sadiablo and Dorothea had asked for this meeting with her, she had woven an idle web as guidance. It had told her to lie... for this lie would be startlingly important.

Prince Sadiablo's child must not be Dorothea's.

Rubbing at tired old eyes, Althea turned her attention to the piles of paperwork that remained for her before she could retire for the day. The coven did not operate as a Court, of course, which meant that she was the only one who dealt with the mundane, day to day things, like paying off their accounts with the local merchants, etc. She was beginning to wade through a pile of notes when she began to feel somewhat sick to her stomach.

She pressed a hand to her side and decided, maybe she had been working too much today. She would take a break, perhaps a nap. She stood and stumbled somewhat on her way to the door. What was wrong with her? She was usually in fine health for her age, and only the knotted old joints gave her trouble in the winter months, with the salve the Healers made and delivered for her.

Frowning, she almost made it to the door of her office before she slumped to the ground.

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

Saetan Daemon Sadiablo was the most feared male in the history of the Blood. The only Black Widow, the only Black. He had walked a road of honor and duty, serving the Courts of Queens of note and purpose. And he felt very, very old. He returned to the Hall that was his legacy in Dhemlan, glad to be home. His butler met him in the front hall, and he nodded a greeting, but exchanged no pleasantries. He didn't pause before he was in the sanctuary of his study with the door closed, when he sighed with relief and rubbed at his temples. He was glad to be home.

The portrait of Cassandra that overlooked the fireplace looked down upon him as he crossed to his desk and poured himself a finger of brandy and sipped at it. He hadn't considered the stir he would cause by agreeing to this contract. He had thought it would be a good idea, to help breed dark Jewels back into the coven by siring a child. Preferably a daughter. He had had sons, and thought that perhaps a daughter would be a nice change. He would welcome another son, too, if it came to that. The Hall was quiet of late. Too quiet.

He hadn't expected these meetings. He hadn't chosen a witch to carry the child yet. Most of the Black Widows knew better than to try and force a Warlord Prince into their bed, knowing that fierce passion and violence that could so easily equate sex for his caste, but some had made their attraction to him... no, not him, his Jewels and caste and rank... so apparent as to be in poor taste.

This morning had been the worst. Dorothea thought it was her right to be the child's mother. Somehow that witch had gotten it through her head that her wearing the Red somehow marked her as a messianic mother. Saetan wasn't sure her womb wouldn't eat any child, destroying his seed. She was a mercenary bitch, from what Saetan had seen, and he would rather break this contract, and thus faith with the Hourglass coven in Hayll, than sire a child on that bitch.

He was startled by his own certainty. He, too, belonged to the caste of visions and tangled webs, but his own webs had been startlingly quiet of late. Perhaps not as quiet as he had originally thought; he could imagine no other reason he had such a violent response to Dorothea's suggestion. After all, she was one of the darkest Jewels in the coven, and a woman of good breeding.

Perhaps she simply reminded him too much of Heketah, his ex wife and mother to two... three... of his children. That stab of pain was as fresh now as it had been thousands of years earlier, and he finished the brandy to numb it. Heketah, too, wore the Red, and had once been a young, vivacious, pretty Hayllian woman of good breeding. Now she was demon dead and haunted his doorstep only occasionally.

A knock at his door startled him, but he recognized the psychic scent of his butler, and indicated the man might enter. A polite incline of the head before the man began to speak. "There is a Lady from the coven here to see you, Prince." Saetan's eyes narrowed. He had indicated he would conduct this business in Hayll, to maintain the privacy he felt he was due in Dhemlan. Sadiablo Hall was his home, but also the main administrative building of Dhemlan; he was, after all, Warlord Prince of Dhemlan and protector of those found within his borders, though he was Hayllian by birth.

"Does she offer a name?" he asked. He had horrible visions of Dorothea having followed him here. He could hear her laughter... Heketah's laughter... echoing off the walls of this room and it made his skin crawl. He wouldn't allow it.

"Tersa." the voice came from behind the butler. The man turned, shocked to have been followed. But if the witch hadn't wanted to be detected, his butler only wore the Purple Dusk. It wouldn't have been hard to mask her scent. And as she stepped into the room, he was caught by the petite figure that belayed the rich, dark scent that she now did not bother to mask. She stepped into his study, and faced him with a small smirk. Her sharp gold eyes were amused, but he could sense tension as well. She didn't know how she would be received.

"Lady Tersa. I was not expecting you," he offered the courtesy because it did not pain him to do so. Having expected Dorothea, he was refreshed by the presence of this Black Widow. He had heard her name before, spoken in the halls of the coven with some manner of anticipation, but he had never been introduced to her. "Would you please be seated?" he glanced at his butler, who was obviously off put by the Lady's actions, but he inclined his head. Refreshments would arrive shortly.

Tersa stepped lightly through his office. He had indicated no seat in particular, but she did not choose to sit before the blackwood desk. Instead, she sat on one of the two couches in a less formal section of the room. He wondered at the choice, and looked at this woman... was she Dhemlanese, not Hayllian?... with some apprehension. She was nothing he had expected, thus far. Neither was that Red Jewel around her neck.

"Thank you, Prince." she paused and glanced up at him. "I'll be frank because I don't know how to dance around the issue... have you chosen Dorothea as the child's mother?" She was young. Younger, perhaps, than Dorothea. At further glance, he realized several startling things about this witch, and one that threw him for a loop. That Red Jewel she wore was her Birthright. He had heard nothing about a Red Birthright within the coven... but would he have? She was precious. He had heard that. Precious to them... and protected from him? Black Widows were notoriously closed mouthed when it suited them.

But her question begged for an answer. "I have not." he wasn't sure it was safe to be frank with her in reply, but he allowed some measure of his distaste for Dorothea to show in his psychic scent. She stiffened, as if unsure of the change in the air, then she seemed to taste the difference and turned to him. Her expression startled him. It was rather feral, and amused. It was the sort of expression he would have expected were they in Kaeleer. The Blood there were somehow... different. He couldn't never place exactly why, but it was true. Tersa's expression turned impish for a moment.

He was even more surprised by his response to that expression, and the sudden tartness in the Black Widow's psychic scent. He hadn't felt attraction like that in some time. Daring, he raised a hand and brushed an errant strand of hair back from her face, but she flinched, and there was sudden heat in her eyes. Hot anger, not the cold of the Jewels. He had overstepped the boundaries in this budding acquaintance; she had some reason to fear men. He removed his hand, and the heat dimmed.

Neither one spoke about the exchange.

"Good." she finally replied. She tensed her hands, white knuckles testament to her tension. He wondered at it. She turned to look at him in the eye; bold, and unforgiving. "Don't." she stood up. He stood as well, somewhat thrown off balance by her sudden movement. She glanced over her shoulder at him, considering, before she tucked dark hair behind an ear. "I should be going."

He was somewhat in shock. Her behavior was off putting. Certainly she hadn't come all the way from Hayll to say that to him when a letter would have sufficed? And she was unescorted, unless he was mistaken. Young, unescorted, and in a hurry...

"The coven doesn't know you are here." he said simply. She tensed, eyes suddenly sharp. He knew he would have to tread carefully. She was cautious, and he would guess she was fiercely loyal to the coven. He would not ask her to betray confidence, but it seemed strange she was being so elusive and secretive.

"And if they don't?" she asked dangerously.

"It's none of my business, of course." he answered. She turned, considering him. He had offered a wary trust, and she studied him as if he might snatch that back at any moment. "But perhaps I could offer you an escort of my own men back to Hayll?" he suggested. She let out a huff, and the coldness was gone.

"I'm perfectly capable of finding my way." she snarled good naturedly. He laughed, and her eyes lit up. He was entranced by her, this bright, shining young Black Widow. "I thank you for the offer, Prince Sadiablo." She inclined her head, and then she was gone, as quickly at she had come. He was left somewhat speechless, and amused. There was a lingering scent of almonds and some perfume he couldn't place, as well as that dark, sweet psychic scent.

Perhaps he had found the witch he would choose.

TYREWOOD ESTATE, HAYLL, TERREILLE

Dorothea paced the balcony of her rooms at her family's home in Hayll, hands twining around the silken handkerchief, and gold eyes blazing. After her horrible meeting with Althea and Prince Sadiablo, she'd come home here, to where she could stew in peace.

She hadn't expected to be thwarted. She needed that child. It would solidify her position within the coven, and within Hayll. Saetan Sadiablo might not come from any of the hundred families (she had checked) but he was well known, infamous, and gloriously dark Jeweled. Everyone knew who he was. Everyone knew his name. His child would be the perfect pawn in Hayll. Dorothea's ultimate goals were simple: she might not be a Queen, but she would rule Hayll.

And that child would be the tool she needed!

She threw herself in a fit over the long, low lounging couch she had in her sitting room. The decor was all rich and brilliant, to compliment the normal coloration for one of the long lived; rich gold, deep reds, and midnight blacks. She twisted her lips into a pretty pout and sighed to herself.

But all was not lost. She could still win this. She turned over and sat up, the folds of her silk gown tangling around her legs as she did. She simply had to prove to the Prince that she was the best... the only, option. After all, he wasn't going to choose some stupid, ugly light Jeweled Black Widow. She had it all going for her. She would win yet. After all, he could hardly resist her.

She smiled to herself, pleased by the thought of having such a handsome, dark Jeweled Warlord Prince as the sire of her child... no, children. She'd let him have one or two more, just to make sure she held the leash firmly. With the Black at her disposal, her takeover of Hayll would be a certainty. And he already ruled Dhemlan, which was scandalous enough, but useful. She may not be a Queen, but she could be High Priestess of Hayll. The title made her smile.

She leaned back, thinking of her future, and smiled.

HEADQUARTERS HOURGLASS COVEN, HAYLL, TERREILLE

"Prince Sadiablo, this is a surprise." Saetan watched the middle aged Black Widow shift things around. She was obviously distracted as she flipped through documents now strewn all over the desk. "I understood that Althea met with you just a few days ago about your contract? Were things not settled to your satisfaction?" Her disinterested tone could mean many things, but Saetan chose to believe that she was simply overwhelmed. Lady Mercedes was the head of the Hourglass coven in Hayll, and had a great many concerns on her plate. It was strange that she was even meeting with him. He had expected to meet with Althea again.

"No, the issue was settled. I came to inform the coven I have chosen a Black Widow, if she accepts my offer." he replied. That seemed to cut through the Lady's haze. She looked up at him and then settled into the chair behind the desk. It was strange, he noted, to be the one on the opposite end of the desk, so used to the duties as Warlord Prince of Dhemlan.

Mercedes cleared her throat. "Who have you chosen, Prince?"

"Lady Tersa."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he sensed the change in Mercedes. Her demeanor shifted and darkened. Her face closed off to him, and the temperature in the room chilled. Startled by her shift in temper, he felt his own instincts rise to the unspoken challenge. Lady Mercedes was impressive with the Gray Jewel she wore, but his Black still eclipsed her. She knew that, and yet he had the impression she would go down fighting. But why? What about his selection had been a call to battle to this witch?

"Lady Tersa is not part of this contract. You will have to choose another." Mercedes said quite chillingly. The two sized one another up for a moment. Predators, both, simply by merit of being Blood. But no Black Widow could meet a Warlord Prince on the killing fields and expect to walk away. Especially not with the man who was the High Lord of Hell before he was a Guardian. Several moments ticked by before the Black Widow shifted in her seat and looked back at him. The unspoken question deserved an answer, and she knew it. "Tersa has not had her Offering or her Virgin Night."

That explained a great deal about the young Black Widow and her caution. A witch was most vulnerable that night, before her power was confirmed, when a man could strip potential from her; a broken witch could do some basic Craft, but would never be the kind of witch she had been born to be. And she would always know it, too.

But it was more than that, he knew. Something he could not place, and something she was not going to tell him. He accepted the answer, however inadequate, and inclined his head. "When does the coven expect her to have her Virgin Night?" The coven had no power to force Tersa to have it, merely to suggest partners or times to her. She was old enough to have had her majority, and it would be odd to not have had her Virgin Night. There was a great deal he did not know about Tersa, but this oddity seemed to sit ill at ease with him. Why would a young Black Widow forgo something that would only solidify her power, and protect her?

It cost Mercedes a great deal to answer, but she did, because the coven needed to be able to trust him, and she knew it. "Within the month."

He considered the answer, and then nodded slightly. "If this idea pleases Tersa... then I would be willing to wait until she is safely confirmed of her power." he was in no rush, and if the coven was, then they would have to renegotiate. He had chosen Tersa.

Little did he know that Tersa was not a witch who had much interest in being chosen.

Mercedes didn't like his answer, that much was apparent, but there was little she could do to contest him. She pursed her lips. "If it pleases Tersa... then so shall it be."


	2. The Fear

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

The gardens in the central courtyard of the Hall had always been one of Saetan’s favorite places in the entirety of the estate. The soft floral scent that wafted from the early dusk flowers was enough to bring a soothing atmosphere to a heart that had been tense and troubled of late. The last of the day’s sunlight had faded, and only lanterns lit every few yards and the moon overhead cast any sort of light on the two occupants.

Tersa studied the flowers with distracted interest as they walked. He had asked to meet with her several times before she’d consented, and even then she had chosen to meet him at his own estate rather than in Hayll. She seemed distracted when she arrived, and it was apparent there was something weighing heavily upon her mind. 

Days from now she would have her Virgin Night. That much Lady Mercedes had revealed to him, though Tersa had said nothing about it to him. The young man who had been chosen was a servant to the coven, that was all that he had been allowed to know. 

It wasn’t appropriate for him to broach the subject of her Virgin Night, though he did attempt to bring up the contract once more.

“Have you considered my offer?” he pressed. She said nothing for several moments, and he was sure she was ignoring him, when finally she turned. The something in those sharp gold eyes almost made him want to take a step back. 

“You should choose another, Prince.” her tone was as sharp as her eyes, and he wondered why. She was young to be a mother, of course, but with the coven so interested in the child it would hardly be a burden to her to have one. He would, of course, want to be involved in the child’s life as well. Did she not understand? He opened his mouth to speak when she looked away. “I should never have come here.” 

He frowned. “Lady, if I’ve alarmed you or offended with the offer…” He couldn’t help but feel put off. 

“It’s not that,” she said abruptly, cutting him off. “Trust me when I say I will not be a viable option soon enough.” Her words were hollow, cold. Without thinking, he took a step forward and caught her arm.

“What do you mean?” he said too softly. She raised defiant eyes to him and set her jaw.

“I am a very talented Black Widow, Prince.” She said, but what did she mean? He studied her face and there was tense silence between them. Honor bound, Black Widows did not ask one another certain questions. Saetan understood that. But he wanted… no, needed to know what Tersa had seen that made her so tense, so sure that she would not qualify.

He released her. She stepped back, studied him a moment longer, and then left the courtyard at something just short of a run. “So am I, Lady Tersa… so am I.” he breathed to no one but the night air. 

TYREWOOD ESTATE, HAYLL, TERREILLE

Dorothea smiled as she read the letter. Her pretty painted lips twisted into a cruel smirk and she laughed to herself. “Everything is in place. Soon I won’t have to worry about that stupid, ugly Tersa. And Prince Sadiablo will choose me… will LOVE me.” she giggled to herself and folded the letter before vanishing it. 

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

Saetan retreated to the private work room he kept in the Hall, the place where he wove the most private of webs. As he chose his materials, carefully, methodically, he retreated to that internal landscape of horrors. As he wove, he thought of youth, thought of beauty, thought of violence.

What he saw was a coming storm, and a young woman standing arms outstretched, trying to hold it all back herself. A woman who turned to him and had sharp gold eyes. The vision left him cold and unfulfilled, but with a deep sense of urgency.

He destroyed the web when he was done, and left his study. He had something to do. Someone to talk to. Somewhere to be.

HEADQUARTERS HOURGLASS COVEN, HAYLL, TERREILLE

The arrival of a Black Jeweled Warlord Prince should have been noteworthy. Mercedes was knee deep in shit, metaphorically speaking, however, and she relegated Prince Sadiablo to a waiting room with a scathing look that she was only semi certain was not going to earn her a shallow grave and a painful death... perhaps in that order. Despite that less than reassuring thought, she had little time to spare. Tonight was Tersa's Virgin Night. How had the stupid male known that? Mercedes cursed whoever or whatever had told him, and paused before Tersa's bedroom door. She straightened her hair, set her shoulders, and inhaled deeply before she knocked. A muffled voice from within was invitation enough. She opened the door and stepped inside.

Tersa stood silhouetted against the window. She wore only a dark nightgown, arms crossed as if she were cold. She had her back to Mercedes, which made her look thin and waifish. She couldn't be old enough for this, Mercedes thought with quiet desperation. Mercedes didn't think of the nightmarish night of her own Virgin Night, and instead focused on Tersa and her situation.

"It'll be over quickly. Have you drank the saffremate brew?" She said abruptly. Tersa didn't respond. Mercedes would simply have to hope that she had. "Just focus on yourself and try not to panic." Mercedes swallowed hard. "I'm making this sound like a war." She stepped up to Tersa and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Tersa?"

When Tersa turned to look at her, Mercedes was taken slightly aback. There were maelstroms in those eyes. "Tersa?" She breathed. But then the moment was shattered by another knock. Both women turned to look. It was Mercedes who moved first, though, and she opened the door.

The male they'd chosen. Gerard. He was a Sapphire Jeweled Prince. It was a risk that he wasn't darker Jeweled than Tersa, but... there weren't any males that Mercedes thought they could trust who were. She stepped aside to let the man enter. Gerard moved with that particular swagger of his and entered. Mercedes looked from one to the other, and quietly excused herself.

Mercedes didn't have time to linger in concern. She didn't have time to focus on her concerns at all. She had a Black Jeweled Warlord Prince to entertain, because the stupid foolish male couldn't just butt out for one day. She was gritting her teeth as she moved, but she managed to school her expression before she rejoined him. He was precisely where she'd left him... somewhat annoyingly so. "Ah, sorry about that Prince. Now, what can the Coven do for you today?" She settled herself in a chair opposite him, trying quite hard not to resent him for his presence. His contract with them was vital, and she couldn't chase him off. And yet she wanted to boot him out of the house and tell him to come another day. Sadly one did not treat a Warlord Prince in that way.

"Lady Mercedes, it is as usual, my pleasure." he said with the stiff formality of a Prince well used to Court and those within it. Mercedes chafed already. 

"Ah yes." she couldn't quite keep the tone out of her voice. "Was there anything you needed?" she prompted. She sensed the flicker of annoyance in his psychic scent but thought perhaps that whatever was in his eyes wasn't directly dangerous to her. Not at this precise moment. 

"You know why I'm here." he said a little too softly. Mercedes tensed. She swallowed hard. Was this male a threat? Should Mercedes have kept Tersa more firmly out of the Prince's eye? The two stared one another down, and Mercedes fought a brief war within herself.

They sat in silence for awhile. They didn't quite look at one another, but in a tense and odd way they took comfort in the shared tension. Time passed. 

A spike of fear. Thrashing along the Red that knocked Mercedes' mind askew. Mercedes stood, but stumbled until she'd managed to shake her mind free. When she looked up, though, the Warlord Prince was already gone. Mercedes's heart caught in her throat. She took off down the hall.

When she arrived in the bedroom, it was a massacre. There was a mash of something all over the bed and walls. Tersa was sitting on the floor, near the corner, arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were blank. Dangerously blank. Mercedes tried to move towards her, but sensed that the cold wasn't gone. The Warlord Prince standing before her was still deep in the killing rage, and this bedroom was a battlefield. No... a killing field. Mercedes hesitated. It took he several long minutes to realize that the strange red mash lined up alarmingly well with Gerard's absence.

What had Prince Sadiablo done?

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

"Thank you for seeing me, Prince." Mercedes wasn't sure if that was her own voice. Could she trust her voice after the incident only... two days ago? Tersa had slept for nearly a day afterwards, but a careful Healer had confirmed that Tersa was no longer a virgin, and Mercedes' own careful probe had proved that she was still whole in her own power. Soon she'd have her Offering and truly whole. Mercedes wasn't sure that she could handle any more excitement. Her hands were wrapped around a warm cup of herbal tea, something she'd accepted without much of a fuss when she'd arrived. The Prince was looking over the desk at her, fingers steepled, watching her. He was patient, it seemed. 

Eventually she found her voice again. "When you entered the bedroom, did you... was he trying to break her?" If she couldn't trust the men who served the coven, who could she trust? The thought had been circling around in her head. Her concern for Tersa, her control... had a witch in her care nearly been broken?

"He was, Lady. His intentions were clear." Was his subtle reply. 

Mercedes felt her chest tighten. "So that's why you killed him. Understandable." She mumbled.

A moment of silence. "I didn't kill him, Lady. Tersa did."


	3. The Consumation

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

A month passed without word from the Coven. Saetan appreciated that Tersa needed time to recover from the shock of unleashing her own strength, of the trauma that nearly broke her of her strength. He'd stayed away out of respect for her, and her need to recollect her bearings. He'd stayed away because it was expected for a Warlord Prince in his position to do so. 

He didn't want to stay away. 

His concern for her was beginning to wear away at him. He sat behind the blackwood desk with a glass of yarbarah in his right hand. He swirled the contents once, twice, absently and without a great deal of purpose. He took a sip and scowled. It had gone cold. He sat the glass aside with a click of glass on wood that sloshed some of the contents out onto the surface. 

Should he go and see her? He doubted that he would be entirely welcome at the home of the Coven just then. It wasn't yet common knowledge that he'd chosen Tersa to bear his child. He wasn't entirely sure she'd even accepted. With his contract hanging in the air, all eyes were on him, anticipatory. 

Dorothea was the worst. She sent letters, and twice had tried to call upon him here. He'd politely, but firmly, sent her away. Her very psychic scent repulsed him. Scowling deeper, he pushed away from the desk and rose, stalking like a predator to a window. It was dark outside. Even with the curtains drawn, all he could see was his own reflection in the glass. 

He'd nearly decided to go to the Coven's headquarters and demand to see her when a quiet knock startled him out of his own mind. He turned as the door opened. Tersa stood there. Her skin was a bit pale for the light golden brown of her race, but her sharp gold eyes were alit and alert. They simply stared at one another for awhile, without speaking. Her psychic scent was dark and deliciously intoxicating. He found himself drinking it in, losing himself. The Jewel hanging from her neck finally caught his eye.

She was wearing the Black.

"Tersa." he said. That one word brought her forward into his study. He stepped around the desk, and somehow she fell into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin, and just held onto her, drinking in the scent of her. She held on, but to her credit, she didn't cling, she didn't shake. She had just taken on a terrible burden, but she was strong enough to bear it. 

She wouldn't have to do it alone.

He wasn't sure when she tilted her head back, or when he kissed her. They kissed. The embrace turned to touching, exploring. He finally pulled away, and she looked up at him, questioning. It didn't seem right. 

"I'm sure, Saetan." she murmured. He inhaled at the sound of his name on her lips. "I've chosen this." she breathed against his lips as she kissed him again. 

SAME LOCATION, LATER

When Saetan woke the next day, he had a splitting headache. He realized absently that he'd forgotten to draw the drapes and the sun had been spilling over his face for some time. He shifted, but he couldn't move very far. Tersa was using his arm as a pillow, and she had a firm grip on the blanket over them both, too. When he tried to ease out from underneath her, she grumbled and rolled over. Thinking she was still asleep, he rolled out of bed, crossed to the window, and closed the blinds. 

"Thank you. That was bright." she muttered groggily from the mound of blankets. Smiling to himself at her voice, he crossed back to the bed and climbed back in with her. She shifted to accomidate him and settled in. "Mm, you smell nice." she added at a murmur. He ran a hand over her hair, sleep tangled and lovely. 

"I smell like sex." he replied. She cracked an eye open and her lips twisted into a smile before she closed her eyes again. She shifted slightly, settling in again. 

"Do you think we made a baby last night?" she asked after a long, comfortable pause. Without thinking, his hand sought her belly, where he found her hand splayed. He shifted to look down into her face. 

"I'm probably not fertile without a Healer's brew... I'll have to drink one." he sounded uncertain. He felt uncertain. Had that just been her fulfilling her end of the contract? He felt his heart tighten, but her immediate smile as she shifted to roll over onto her belly and smile at him belayed that thought.

"Then we'll have to keep trying. Over and over and over." There was a devilish little smile in her eyes. She half crawled towards him, and his arms came around her. She kissed him, and he forgot all about the headache.

TYREWOOD ESTATE, HAYLL, TERREILLE

Dorothea fumed. She had been fuming for weeks. Her best attempts to break that stupid Tersa had failed, and a valuable tool had been destroyed. Gerard had been easy enough to buy off. He thought Dorothea was beautiful and that was enough for him. But the stupid idiotic male had failed in one simple task, and now Tersa had been confirmed in her power! She now wore a Jewel darker than Dorothea's own. She was a threat larger than she'd ever been before.

Dorothea had to admit to a certain level of fear. She'd never admit it aloud of course, but in the privacy in her own home... Tersa was a threat. A deep, frightening threat.

Rumor had it that Tersa had disappeared after her Offering. Dorothea didn't know for certain where she'd gone, but she suspected it was too much to hope she'd been swallowed whole by the Darkness, or gone off to be a recluse somewhere. No one in the Coven even knew for sure what Jewels she'd walked away with.

Where had she gone? 

No matter. Dorothea had a few things to take care of... in her absence. Dorothea rang for a servant. She had a delivery for Lady Mercedes. The Head of the Hourglass Coven had outstayed her usefulness.


	4. The Bargain

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

"Congratulations, Lady, on the news. If I may say on behalf of the staff, we are all quite pleased." Saetan smiled as his butler addressed Tersa. They had only begun to share the news earlier that day, but the staff at the Hall had been told out of courtesy. Saetan wasn't foolish. He knew his own nature well enough to know that it would be prudent for everyone who would be interacting with Tersa over the next few months to know in advance that his temper would always be just slightly on edge.

Tersa smiled and flushed. She was a very self possessed young woman, but she was still young enough to enjoy the attention. There was a little color to her cheeks, too, but overall she was relatively pale. They had been draining her Jewels for a few days, since the Healer in the village that lived in the shadow of the Hall had confirmed what Tersa and Saetan had both suspected. 

In the end, it had taken a brew to restore his fertility, but after drinking it for two weeks, they had achieved results. He'd stopped drinking the brew now (thankfully, because it didn't taste good despite what the Healer had cheerfully told him when she'd started delivering it).

Tersa had agreed, rather grumpily, to a snack after a rather terse little exchange they'd had. She was looking a little pale, and the morning sickness she was already beginning to experience was making it difficult for her to eat in the morning. Apparently suggesting that she try to eat some fruit and cheese this afternoon had been nagging, which wasn't something that the Warlord Prince of Dhemlan and the High Lord of Hell ever did. He didn't bring that up, but here she was nibbling on some grapes and enjoying a glass of fruit juice as if it had been her idea. 

Well at least she was eating.

His butler excused himself, and left the two of them alone. They were settled in his public office. She was reclining on the couch and he was at his desk, attempting to get some work done. Or so she'd informed him he should be. 

She became absorbed in the book she'd picked from his library, for all intents and purposes ignoring him. He took that as a sign that he shouldn't push his luck and ask if she needed anything. He applied himself to the stack of correspondence on his desk. 

Tersa wasn't formally living with him. They were courting, but she still retained her own residence with the Coven. That she hadn't been there in more than a week was telling, but he wouldn't point that out. He knew she couldn't stay here exclusively for the length of her pregnancy, but she had agreed to schedule her visits so that Saetan or at least a contingent of his own escorts could go with her. One of the perks of carrying a Warlord Prince's child, he'd pointed out. He'd been this possessive and protective of Heketah, too, when she'd been pregnant with Mephis. He'd tried with Peyton, but by then things had been strained. With their third son... well, by then he should have known not to trust her with his child. That mistake would haunt him forever. 

A polite knock at the door interrupted his reverie, and the stack of correspondence that he was most assuredly not working through. He cleared his throat then spoke aloud: "Come in." 

Tersa shifted, marked her place in her book, and sat up. He cast her a glance, wondering if he should ask her to leave for awhile. If it was official business. His duties as Warlord Prince of Dhemlan had no place in their budding relationship. 

His butler entered, which surprised him. But the man was carrying a letter, and looked somewhat agitated. Saetan felt his temper prick as a male approached Tersa, even a trusted servant. 

"Excuse me, Prince, Lady, but a letter has come for the Lady. The courier who delivered it seemed quite unhappy, and said the matter was quite urgent." Saetan inclined his head when the male sought his approval. Tersa may be without anything but the most basic Craft, but she took the envelope and frowned at it for a moment. She was scanning it for traps or tricks, he realized. 

"Thank you, Lord Burrows, that will be all." Saetan spoke up. The butler looked relieved, and left the room. Tersa slid her fingers into the gap on the letter, breaking the wax seal and opening it. She unfolded it, and read it. As she did, her face paled even further and her breathing increased. Saetan felt his temper sharpen in response. Tersa finally lowered the letter, her mouth parted as if she would speak, but she had no words.

"Tersa? What is it?" She shook her head, eyes bright with tears. He crossed to her in a few steps, and took the letter from her hand. He read it. His heart sank with every word. 

_Tersa,_

_I am writing to inform you that Mercedes has died. No one's dared to say it aloud, but it was murder, I swear to you. She was healthy, she wore the Gray... she shouldn't have fallen ill and died in the space of a day. The eldest in the Coven tended the body and we will bury her with honor, but I was there when she died. I am a Healer as well as a Black Widow, and I tended her in her last hours. It was not an easy death, it was not a natural death._

_I'm afraid for us all, Sister. I wonder if it is at all safe to remain in Hayll._

_Luthvian_

Tersa had wrapped her arms around herself by the time he dropped the letter onto the couch beside her. Tears ran down her face; she didn't attempt to hide that. "I can't believe it... Mercedes is dead?" she breathed. He sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "How can she be dead? I haven't been away that long..." She turned into him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. 

Sorrow. Disbelief. A little fear. More guilt. 

"I have to go. I have to be with my Sisters."

His arms tightened as she attempted to push away. Her force increased, and his grip tightened. He couldn't entirely control the response. After a moment, he managed to peel his grip away, but he still looked at her, barely gritting his teeth. 

"No."

Her eyes hardened. "You can't make me stay." 

"You can't put yourself at risk like that!" he was trying, desperately, to keep his temper in check, but it wasn't working, and he was approaching a point where he would do something rash, he knew himself well enough to know that. She shot to her feet, hot temper flaring.

"You have no right to tell me what to do!" She was yelling, half sobbing, and he rose, snapping the leash on his temper. He understood, cognitively, that she was vulnerable and frightened and emotional, but she couldn't speak to a Warlord Prince like that, not without seeing some of what lived underneath. He slashed a hand through the air and a piece of the mantlepiece exploded into a shower of stone and plaster. He shielded her, of course, but she still flinched when the explosion began, startled. She had never seen the danger that lived beneath his benign facade, and it was frightening. 

The air in the study stilled, silent. She studied him, her throat working, before she stepped away from him. 

"High Lord," she said. "I will be in my room." she said, knowing that she wouldn't be allowed to leave the study if he disagreed with her choice of destinations. He released the shield around the room (when he had put it up? He didn't remember but it had clearly been a good idea) and she left. 

He sank, boneless, down onto the couch. He had overreacted. He hadn't been able to help himself. 

 

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE (LATER)

Tersa did not join him until shortly before dawn the next day, at the very end of his wakeful time. She looked torn between wanting to ask forgiveness and too much pride to ever do such a thing, but he understood the gesture of joining him for a meal before he would sleep, and he appreciated the signal that their fight was over. They didn't speak of the coven, not initially, keeping their conversation mild and light. They talked about the possible location of the nursery. They chatted about the meal. Tersa was interested in turning the old guard house into a workshop for herself, so that she might have the comfort of some distance when she craved it, and he agreed that would probably be a good idea. 

He wasn't sure that she entirely understood how large the guardhouse was, but perhaps she was. He gave his permission for her to speak with the groundskeeper and head gardener on the subject. He was nearly ready to excuse himself, to head up to his suite to sleep, when she reached over and touched his wrist.

"Would you object if I asked a friend of mine to come stay here at the Hall for awhile?" A simple request. How could he deny her companionship? There was more at work here than that, though. He had that kind of hazy feeling that he associated with his skills as a Black Widow; he would have to weave to find out more, though, and he didn't have that luxury in that moment. 

"Of course not. Ask the housekeeper to prepare a suite in the guest wing, and send your invitation." He stood, sat his napkin beside his plate, and leaned over to brush a kiss at her temple. She caught his arm and turned into him, kissing him with a fire that a man could find addicting, if they weren't careful. She released him.

"Thank you, Saetan." she whispered. She stood and excused herself as well, leaving by a different door than he would, to head upstairs. He wondered, briefly, what he'd agreed to.

LETTERS EXCHANGED BETWEEN LADY TERSA & LADY LUTHVIAN 

_Luthvian,_

_Come to the Hall in Dhemlan. You will be my guest. I promise, it's safe here._

_We can discuss your visions once you arrive. I don't trust the eyes around you._

_Tersa_

\- -

_T,_

_It is dangerous to move now. The snake is always watching. So much has changed so quickly._

_Dorothea has been chosen Head of the Hourglass Coven in Hayll._

_It is no longer safe here. I will come when I can get away._

_L_

\- - 

SADIABLO HALL, DHEMLAN, TERREILLE

Tersa appeared like smoke in the doorway of his bedroom. Weeks had passed since their first fight, but something was wrong, something that troubled her that she could, or wouldn't, speak of. He'd thought that the arrival of her friend, Luthvian, would cheer her, but if anything she seemed more grim. It troubled him that she kept her own council, but she wasn't a Queen, he had no rights within Blood Law to corner her and demand answers. He wasn't confidant enough in their relationship to attempt to force her on an emotional level. So he would wait her out.

She came to him. She was maybe two months along now, and though she swore that she had put on an incredible amount of weight, she hardly looked different. She crossed his bedchamber, slid into the bed next to him, and kissed him with that scalding fire, pulling back only long enough to frame his face. 

"Saetan, I need something from you. Please." 

He reached for her, but she skirted away, shaking her head.

"You trust that I am a very potent Black Widow? Luthvian is as good as I am." It wasn't true, he thought, but Luthvian was talented to be sure. "She has seen in a web that if she doesn't have her Virgin Night before the next new moon, she will be dead before then." 

His blood ran cold. Their courtship was too young for her to be asking this of him. He pulled away, running a hand over his face. She had come to him when he was barely awake, still abed. Had she timed it so that he would be more vulnerable, or had she simply not been able to wait any longer. 

"Please, Prince." 

He responded to that title more than his own name, and he was nodding before he realized it. "Yes. I'll do it."

"Tonight." 

That startled him, but in the next heartbeat, he knew it was for the best. "Yes, tonight."

"Thank you, Saetan." She kissed him again, and then was gone, off to arrange things. He wasn't sure he hadn't made an ill advised choice, but a thought did finally cross his mind. How bad were things with the coven if a young, talented Black Widow couldn't trust herself to their care? That thought chilled him enough to drive him from his bed. He dressed, and went to seek out Tersa.


End file.
